Meta Blocks Over Half a Million Accounts as Australia Enforces World's Toughest Social Media Ban for Kids. Meta says it has blocked around 550,000 accounts in the early days of Australia's new social media ban for children, as the country begins enforcing one of the strictest online safety laws in the world. Under legislation that came into force in December, platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Threads must prevent Australians under the age of 16 from holding accounts. The government says the move is designed to shield children from harmful content and addictive algorithms. Meta reports it removed more than 330,000 Instagram accounts, nearly 174,000 on Facebook, and close to 40,000 on Threads in just the first week. While the company says it supports protecting young users, it argues blanket bans are the wrong approach. Instead, Meta wants age checks handled at the app store level and exemptions for parental consent, warning teens may simply move to less regulated platforms. The policy is hugely popular with parents and is already drawing interest from other countries but critics say kids can still bypass the system, and that the ban may cut vulnerable young people off from vital online communities.